


Two by Two, Hair of Blue

by dreyes



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Jaegercon Bingo, Knitting, Mako in a GLASS CASE OF EMOTION, Post-Canon, Raleigh being a fangirl, Tumblr: jaegercon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-23 03:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/921390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreyes/pseuds/dreyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako is having difficulty coping after the events of Operation: Pitfall. Raleigh encounters someone who could help possibly her...but who the hell is she?</p><p>Tumblr is being mean and not letting me import, so I apologize for the double posting. Title is from Firefly, but has nothing to do with the story. Written for jaegercon bingo "Post-canon"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two by Two, Hair of Blue

Mako Mori doesn’t cry. 

There are no tears during the medal ceremony, no emotions when she lays the folded flag at the empty grave of her father. She is still and serene during the endless salutes, the waves of journalists, and when the crowds clamor for the two saviors of the world all she does is offer a small smile and a wave before the solemn mask falls over her features once again. 

In the weeks that follow Operation Pitfall, Mako Mori does not shed a single tear.

Raleigh notices this, and worries. The last strong emotion he remembers from her is when she clung to him on the escape pod, joy and relief and sadness written in equal measure on her face. He worries as he knits, the needles clacking in time with her footsteps as she prepares for sleep. They have been inseparable since the Breach closed and Gipsy Danger was lost. Their dorm is cramped, meant to hold one bed, not two, but he is too shy to ask and she is too wrapped up in her grief to notice. 

They pass another night like this, he worrying and she wrestling with her demons. Then it is daylight, and time to deal with the hordes of interviewers and politicians, all wanting to spend just a little bit of their time with the two most important people in the world.

Raleigh walks along the corridor towards the interview room, smiling at the people he does know and and nodding gravely to the people he does not. He fails to notice the whispers of “she’s here” and “she’s finally back” that swirl around him. In his head he is rehearsing all the sound bites and quips that he will use today:

"I couldn’t have done it without the support of the PPDC and especially my partner Mako."

"Yes, of course I still miss my brother, but if he were here he’d tell me to quit moping around and go kick some kaiju ass."

"It’s Mako’s Jaeger, really, I just provide the muscle."

He is trying to figure out a polite way to say “none of your business” in response to the inevitable question of his and Mako’s relationship, when he thinks he sees her up ahead. 

It’s the same walk that Mako has, all quiet strength and confidence, the same dark hair, but as he catches up to her he notices that the hair is much longer and the skin a shade darker. The girl turns to him and with a shock he notices a flash of blue, the exact hue of Mako’s, in her tresses. She is dressed in an engineer’s outfit, hat pulled down low so he can’t really look at her face.

She grins a “hello” at him, a hint of mischief in her face and before he can say anything back she quickens her pace up the hallway and darts in to Herc’s -Marshall Hansen’s- unlocked quarters. Raleigh frowns, slightly confused by these new developments but he can already hear the crowd calling his name so he marches past the Marshall’s room to the interview room’s entry, squares his shoulders, and is engulfed by the chaos of the day’s press conference. 

It is three exhausting hours before they are done and he can speak to the love of his life. 

"I don’t remember this being in the job description when I signed up, do you?" he jokes. 

But she doesn’t smile, doesn’t give any indication that she’s heard him. She is distant, hiding behind a frigid mask and he runs his hands through his hair in frustration because he can help her train, he can help her with the Drift but there is no training needed now, no Drifting necessary and he cannot help her with such a simple thing as sorrow.

They are leaving the press room when Raleigh sees her again. She is dressed, not in engineer’s clothes, but in a simple blouse and pencil skirt. He might have not recognized her but for the streaks of blue in her unbound hair. Now that he’s got a good look at her face, she looks vaguely familiar. 

Was she a Jaeger-fly? He thinks to himself. She’s quite pretty. Did I…? 

He panics and glances at Mako, but she fails to notice because her gaze is already locked onto the girl’s face. To his utter surprise, the two women quickly run to each other and embrace.  With a start, he realizes that he’s seen this girl recently- in Mako’s head. Only glimpses, but she is clearly important enough to be there at all, when most of Mako’s memories consist of Stacker and Gipsy. Then Raleigh’s jaw hits the floor. 

Mako Mori is crying her heart out.

**Author's Note:**

> Possibly part of a bigger story involving OC and her relationship to Mako and other characters of Pacific Rim. The intent is to show past, present, and future events from OC's perspective, and this is her introduction.


End file.
